Photos: Making your space shine online

In a competitive online marketplace, customers looking to make a purchase rely on a handful of cues to help them make their choice.

Quality product photos are essential to attracting attention and establishing trust between your business and potential customers. Photographs that are visually appealing and tell your story are key to standing out and winning business online.

At LiquidSpace, we want to help make sure your workspace photos are doing their best for your business. Here are a couple of slides that outline the best tips for making your space shine on your profile.

Additionally, we asked professional photographer, Jonathan Garza, to share some of the secrets he uses to make great indoor photographs for real estate clients like airbnb.com. Rely on these tips to take photos that catch your customer’s eye and bring them to your door.

1. Let the Light Shine In

“Bright, well-lit spaces are more attractive,” Garza says. “Turn on all of the lights and open the windows.” Make sure you have enough light so that the details of your space show up in your photos. Shooting away from open windows is a great way to make sure that you take best advantage of the natural light with less risk of over-exposing your shot.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t take a picture of your space and the windows, too. If you have a room with a view you want to show off, just be sure to pick the right time of day when the light outside isn’t so direct that it makes the room seem dark. And if you’re still getting over-exposed, dark areas in your shot, Garza offers this handy camera tip: “To get a better exposure on the dark spot aim the camera into it and press the shutter button half way down, then recompose and take the photo.”

2. Hide the Wires

“Try to remove random electronics and extra wiring such as alarm clocks, cell phone plugs, and iPhone wires to make rooms look more attractive,” Garza says. Removing cords and bits of electronics from the shot will give the surfaces in your photos a clean, uncluttered look and keep your customers focused on your product.

3. Remember the Rules

There are two important rules of thumb that professionals keep in mind when they set up their shots to add energy to their composition and actively direct the viewer’s attention.

The first is the “rule of thirds.” To use it, imagine the area you want to shoot on a grid divided up into thirds horizontally and vertically. Instead of putting everything in the center of the grid, try to align the elements of your picture at the intersections of the grid lines. Setting your shots up slightly off kilter guards against staid, boring shots and injects some energy into your photo. Another great camera tip: many digital cameras can be set to show the grid right on the camera display to help you line up your shots perfectly every time.

4. Vary the Perspective

“In general,” Garza advises, “shoot as wide as you can to make the space look as large and spacious as possible.” Wide shots give people a sense of the scale and utility of your space. But don’t be afraid to inject some flavor into your collection by including some close-ups of the decor or furniture. That way people can also experience what is unique or interesting about your space.

Now that you know some of the secrets the professionals use, we’d love to see what you can do. Take some great shots of your venue and workspaces and add them to your Venue Landing Page on LiquidSpace.com to show off your skills and your space!

"Rule of Thirds" - Credit Wikipedia

The second composition rule to keep in mind is called “leading lines.” The eye loves to follow lines. The eyes of your customer will be drawn along the lines you create with your image. Be sure to use them to draw the attention in the photo to the main focus of your shot.